The Cameron Files: Secret at Loch Ness Review

Summary

Rating:

Overall:Good graphics, reasonably interesting story, very good character animation, good range of puzzles, appealling to all ages. Occasionally too much pixel-hunting, too many hints (both verbal and written), and far too linear gameplay.

Strange phenomena are being reported from Devil's Ridge Manor,
overlooking Loch Ness. You are playing Alan P. Cameron, Private
Investigator, and have been requested to return to your ancestral
homeland to investigate the strange goings-on. In the course of your
investigations, you will move from a medieval castle to a scientist's
secret laboratory, and finally to the troubled waters of Loch Ness,
uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the foundations of the Western
world.

The game installed fairly simply and cleanly, and started easily. It
also ran well, with a minimum of problems. However, it should be noted
that The Cameron Files is one of those games which always require
the user to begin on Disc 1. So as one progresses through the game,
and most of the gameplay is taking place on Disc 2, restarting from a
saved game is a tedious task, requiring the user to start with Disc 1,
only to select a saved game that requires Disc 2, and then swap discs.

While the gameplay provided by The Cameron Files was mostly
enjoyable, it would not be considered challenging. Despite the
ability to roam around and explore, the game is quite linear. You
cannot go on to Step B until you have successfully completed Step
A. Often that involves finding some object, or talking with some
particular person. (In one example, nothing can be done until the
player has discovered one particularly small object to look at -- an
object which requires a bit of "pixel-hunting" even to locate!) I was
occasionally frustrated when there weren't any apparent clues as to
what needed to be done next, resulting in tedious exploration of
numerous locations which had already been visited. While it is nice to
know that you cannot overlook something and move to other areas
before you have everything you need, it is also somewhat annoying to
be unable to continue, when exploration of other areas might provide a
welcome change-of-pace.

Movement through the game is reasonably easy and intuitive --
especially for fans of The Messenger, Dracula
Resurrection, and other games using this same game engine. Full
360-degree panning provides a "virtual reality" effect for the
player. This also contributes to a quick learning curve for the
game. However, the complexity of some of the scenes can become
somewhat overwhelming. In particular, the main Manor House was quite
difficult to navigate at times, with halls leading to halls leading to
halls, and no simple way to map the house. A map within the game (such
as the map of the Louvre used in The Messenger) would have been
a welcome addition.

Given the plot, the game length (spanning 2 CDs, and taking 15-20
hours to complete) seemed just about right. The inventory was
implemented well and was easy to use. Items were displayed clearly and
identified with text. Using inventory items was as simple as selecting
them, and attempting to apply them to other objects by clicking on
those objects. Only a few inventory items needed to be combined --
which the game made a bit too easy by not allowing the player to
attempt to use the uncombined objects.

Like The Messenger, Dracula Resurrection, and other
similar games, The Cameron Files also has the same limitation
of 8 saved games. I personally like games which provide the ability
for an unlimited number of saved games (typically by storing each
saved game in a separate file -- which also allows much more
flexibility in naming the saved games). The only information stored
with a saved game is a thumbnail screen shot, and a date/timestamp. It
is up to the user to remember which games were saved under what
conditions.

There is a lot of nice 3D rendering and animation in the
game. However, even that can be disappointing, as the player will
encounter quite a number of objects that can be interacted with --
zoomed in for close-ups, for example -- but which play no part in the
game!

The Cameron Files contains quite a few cut scenes that involve
animated characters talking with each other. I was quite impressed
with the detail of the facial expressions as they were talking,
particularly the detail of the lip movements. (I wouldn't even be
surprised if a lip-reader could have "read" some of the conversations,
based on the animations alone.) The 3D graphics and rendering were
done well, and I particularly noticed things such as good use of
shadows that moved accurately as either the player or the light source
moved.

In a similar vein, the stereo sound was implemented quite well. Moving
past (or circling around) a stationary sound source, for example,
resulted in the sound panning from one speaker to another in a very
realistic manner. There was also very good use of ambient sounds, such
as doors creaking, water running, and so forth.

The puzzles in The Cameron Files were fairly good, and
well-integrated into the story line. None were terribly difficult,
although a few were a bit overly-simple, especially if the player
remembers to read Cameron's journal frequently. Some required a good
degree of intuition, while others (such as a terribly confusing
underwater maze) mostly required patience.

One thing that was a double-edged sword was the journal kept by
Cameron. While it provided useful (and sometimes necessary)
information, it often was a bit too much in the way of a help --
almost insulting the player's intelligence. The same comment can be
applied to the frequent audible comments made by Cameron himself --
comments that often were about as subtle as whacking the player over
the head with a 2x4! ("I think I should go and talk to so-and-so now."
"This would be a good time to explore such-and-such.") Some users may
feel that some of the challenge is taken away from them by this
"hand-holding".

The storyline was fairly original and well-developed, and the game
included many entertaining aspects. It fell short of outstanding,
however, due to the tedious and frustrating nature of several of the
gaming elements.